Blurring the lines

Zahra's Paradise, a graphic novel about the social and political situation in Iran, will be serialized online beginning at midnight. Initially, the serialization will reflect events in Iran's recent past, but in the months to come, as current events unfold in Iran, they will weave into the story. The online content will be published in English, Farsi, Arabic, French, Italian, Spanish and Dutch--with other languages to be added.

Storyline

Written by Amir, a human rights activist, and illustrated by Khalil, Zahra's Paradise is a story about the search for Mehdi, a nineteen year old protester who has disappeared in Tehran after the June 2009 unrest. As the blogger and his mother Zahra Alavi begin their search for Mehdi, we are drawn into the underbelly of the Islamic Republic--an elaborate labyrinth in which countless dissidents have vanished over the past decades. -- First Second Books

3 Comments

che ebtekar khubi ... can't wait to see it

Amir / February 19, 2010 5:03 AM

Is this a transliteration of Beheshte' Zahra, the public cemetery in southern Tehran?

Then it probably would serve non-Persian speakers if this was explained. The fact that this is the cemetery where the government buries its victims and then informs the kin of the plot number is very clear to those who live in Iran. But outside Iran, Zahara's Paradise is a one-liner, without the typical Persian double-entendre.

If my imagination is not running ahead of itself, you may have a triple-entendre. The Cemetery as the repository of all lost hope, the ideals of "Zahra", Mohammad's daughter, and finally, the existential situation of Zahara Alavi, the mother of the vanished blogger.

I only point them out as my sons, born in the US, would not have gotten the multiple facets of the strip's title.

Sounds fascinating and I am sure it will live up to its promises. Best of luck to the artists.

nassim sabba / February 19, 2010 6:10 AM

Beheshte' Zahra,IS A GREAT GRAPHIC NOVEL THAT EVERYONE SHOULD READ AND SHARE
THANKS TO AMIR AND KHALIL